Ander woke, and looked around confusedly. It took a few moments to remember what had happened before he went to sleep, and he groaned and fell back against his pillows. That is when he realised he was in his bed. Apparently, Karsish had moved him while he slept. Good man. Ander also realised in the same moment that Karsish didn’t have his own bed. Ander had fallen asleep where Karsish both studied and slept. That was probably too awkward for Karsish to deal with. Still, good man.
Ander checked on the progress of his leg, which had regenerated to just past his knee. He could tell that the poison was completely gone however, and so he pulled out the jar with the poor unfortunate spider and proceeded to get bit. He wondered how many more times he could do this with the same spider. He didn’t intend to feed it or keep it in any way. How much more venom could it produce without food?
Shrugging, Ander threw the spider back in his inventory and pulled up his status.
Ander
Level 30
Race: Exodari
Subrace: Oritol
HP: 600
MP: 1080
SP: 1520
Strength 209
Dexterity 70
Agility 150
Toughness 60
Constitution 120
Perception 60
Intelligence 35
Memory 35
Conductivity 74
Wisdom 94
Regeneration 74
Beauty 41
Presence 74
You have one hundred forty free stat points, would you like to distribute them now?
Yes/No
Ander selected no for the moment. His new stat distribution seemed to give him everything he needed for his class to progress. Strength, Dexterity, Agility, and a bit of Wisdom. That was great, it meant that he didn’t need to use his free stats to bump up his main stats. Probably. He could likely use them to shore up some weaknesses. His main weakness was simply getting too injured to continue the fight. In the fight with the spider boss, it very well could have incapacitated him before his resources were depleted. He didn’t like the idea that he could be sitting there with no legs only to be smashed because he couldn’t regenerate them. Ander paused for a moment to examine that thought. Maybe it would be better to focus on simply not getting hit. His class was agility based, making dodging far more effective than trying to heal the damage. Still, he had a legendary healing ability which could regrow limbs, and that was an advantage not to be ignored.
He was pretty lethal against one opponent or many, even in tight surroundings. In stories and video games, wind was always weaker underground. In his case, it seemed to be stronger in certain ways. The force that could be brought to bear through his wind control just by allowing the wind to be guided by cave walls was enormous. He did need to get a shorter weapon however. His Sword of Wind’s Sovereign was great, but a bit long to be used well in these tunnels. Of course in times like the fight with the spider boss, the Sword of Wind’s Sovereign would come right back out. Maybe if he sold a bit more, he would have the points to commission a new sword. He could just use one from the armoury, and he probably would for the time being. But while those swords were of good quality, they were not up to his current expectations.
Ander thought back to his past struggles, trying to figure out what he needed. Finally something popped into his head, and it made his stomach sour. It was a fond memory of a conversation with High Lord Torden. He had been in utter awe of the man, and had never met him before. Ander wasn’t one for random disrespect, but he also didn’t go fawning over people he had never met before. Which only meant one thing.
Mind magic.
The worst part was that he distinctly remembered making a note about this after the conversation. And he had completely forgotten. Moreover, part of him was trying to say everything was all right, when everything was most certainly not all right. That psionic magic was insidious. Which left Ander with a clear objective.
Aside from all that, Ander wanted to beef up his list of spells and skills. He needed some good utility magic. Mapping, communication, hell it would be nice if there was a quest system. Additionally, he wanted a few more modes of attack, especially ranged attacks. Fireball was good, amazing really. But there were times when an explosion was a bit too much. Even performing a minimum fireball tended to blast things apart that it hit. A nice ‘bullet’ type spell would be perfect. Simple, lethal, and low mana. Great for a good spray and pray. He would also like something that could pierce multiple enemies.
He needed to try multiple elements too. At first his fireballs were incredibly scorching. But it seemed like the heat had lessened significantly, while the concussive force had increased by a large margin. Fireball seemed to have been affected by Way of the Wind just like Aeolian Vitality. For the first time in a while, Ander opened up his Skills sheet and took a look.
Minds of the Void:
Epic
While meditating you can reach out to your ancestors and experience what they experienced first hand. This skill retains the abilities granted by Ancestral memory, personal memory, and Walker of Memories, namely knowledge of culture, language, etiquette, money and other things necessary to navigating life as an Exodari. However, by experiencing memories first hand you can both gain and train skills. Due to horrific experiences with the creatures of the void, and the damage done to the skill, the shackles placed on your skill have been removed. You now retain self awareness while walking memories, and lives previously barred have now been made available. Be warned however, limits were placed not only to restrict but to protect, and dangers await the uncautious.
Running
Level 6
Common
Running requires less stamina. You benefit more from agility when running.
Effect increases slightly with each level.
Skill: Survival
Level 1
Uncommon
You gain an increased ability to determine edible vs non edible plants and animals. You gain increased ability to set camp, and to do menial tasks with inferior tools. People who sleep in a camp you set have an increased bonus to their rest. Camps you set up are less likely to be noticed by hostile creatures.
Effects grow with skill level.
Skill: Tracking
Level 1
Uncommon
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Allows you to spot the evidence of moving creatures that they have left behind. Brings footprints, excrement, marks on plantlife, etc. to your attention. Helps you to identify what kinds of creatures passed the area.
Skill: Tanning
Level 6
Common
You can now tan hides and furs into useful products! Chance of success while tanning increased! Chance of success increases with skill level.
Skill: Herbalism
Level 2
Uncommon
Allows you to gain greater insight into plants and herbs. Herbalism is a knowledge skill. Herbalism allows you to consult The Grand Archive to learn more about plants and herbs. Connecting to The Great Archive requires an ongoing mana cost that decreases with a higher level. Herbalism also allows any identification skill to glean more information when identifying plants and herbs. Recall of information relating to plants and herbs is slightly increased.
Skill: Inspect
Level 1
Common
Looking at an object and activating Inspect will cause a prompt to appear with certain vital information.
This skill is modified by your herbalism skill. Continue using them together to upgrade your skill.
Skill: Way of the Wind
Level 115
Legendary
You are one with the cutting wind. This skill grants mastery over any weapon or combination of weapons that you can hold. The wind flows with you allowing you to move without impediment wherever you wish giving you unmatched flexibility in combat. The wind is a part of you. You can perceive what an enemy does while you both touch the wind. This grants a sphere of perception that grows with skill level. You may expend mana to boost your attacks and movement with the force of the wind. This is not a spell and as such cannot be counterspelled and is not affected by an antimagic field.
Congratulations! You are a novice in Skill: Way of the Wind!
You can use the wind to allow you to jump higher and farther than you could before! Effect increases with skill level.
Skill: Arcane Metadynamics (Sigildry)
Level 1
Epic
You have peered into things better left for greater minds and not flinched away.
You gain greater understanding of how sigils work and interact with themselves, ritual diagrams, and material components.
Understanding increases with skill level.
Skill: Multilingual
Level 9
Uncommon
You can speak multiple languages fluently. You can understand others easily and are capable of communicating well in the languages with which you are familiar. You perceive languages with which you are familiar better, and can make yourself heard in chaotic situations.
The foundation for evolution has been set!
Please learn 3 more languages to evolve skill into Polyglot!
Skill: Gaming
Level 24
You have played many video games and have gained an understanding of them. You gain increased completion speed of any game. Increased stamina while engaged in long gaming sessions.
You are a Novice in Skill: Gaming
You have the ability to spot collectibles more easily. Increases with skill level.
Skill: Cooking
Level 3
Allows for the creation of non-magical food and drink.
Skill: Advanced Mathematics
Level 45
You have been taught mathematics in a university. You gain increased calculation speed, and the ability to accurately quantify how stupid everyone else is. Effects grow with skill level.
You are a Novice in Advanced Mathematics.
You can do basic calculations in your head! Size of calculations increases with skill level.
You are a Journeyman in Skill: Advanced Mathematics
You start to see real world problems in terms of mathematics. Ability to accurately quantify the real world is increased.
Skill: Chemistry
Level 32
You have devoted a large amount of study to Chemistry. Your specialty is bomb construction. If you have the Bomb Construction skill, the levels of this skill are added to it. You gain an easier understanding of reactions.
You are a Novice in Skill: Chemistry
Reactions made by your hand produce higher yield, but not greater than the maximum yield. Experiments are less likely to catastrophically fail.
You are a Journeyman in Skill: Chemistry
Experiments run by you are at a much higher chance to provide interesting results.
Skill: Bomb Construction
Level 56 (Level 24 + Chemistry)
You have the capacity to create synthetic bombs of all kinds. Bombs made by you are more stable, and are easier to use.
You are a novice in Skill: Bomb Construction
Bombs made by your hands have a much higher yield. Effect increases with skill level.
You are a Journeyman in Skill: Bomb Construction
You can fashion a bomb out of nearly anything! You can now substitute parts of Bombs with unconventional materials.
You are an Adept in Skill: Bomb Construction.
You can create bombs on the fly as long as you have tools and materials on hand.
Spell: Concussive Fireball
Level 8
Conjure a ball of fire and send it from your hand in your chosen direction. Destructiveness directly in proportion to the amount of mana used to power the spell.
Spell: Wind Blade
Level 7
Create a sheathe of chaotic wind around your blade. When you cut with your blade, the enemy will be torn apart at the edge.
Spell: Prestidigitation
Level 1
Enchant objects with one of several modes, and allow them to do your chores for you!
Skill: Aeolian Vitality
Level 4
Legendary
You gain regeneration equal to 1% of your total health pool 1/minute. This is not a magical effect and therefore cannot be counterspelled. You gain perfect bodysense, and are able to perfectly tell the condition of your body at any time. This does not extend to other people. Your ability to sense other people will increase with skill level. When activated, this skill will rapidly heal any wound, replacing missing flesh and bone at a rate of 1 inch per minute. This skill will cause intense hunger if overused, and may cause malnutrition if sufficient food is not consumed. The active skill can be used on others to the extent of your bodysense. This skill can be used at range within the windsense granted by Way of the Wind, granting Allies within your windsense access to your regeneration, and allowing you to heal at range.
Ander was a bit impressed with himself, though his skills were all over the place. They included a lot of old world skills he would have been better off letting fade back into his soul. It did remind him that he had just transformed Walker of Memories to Minds of the Void. This meant he could probably find a good telekinesis skill now, more than just prestidigitation. Ander read through the list again and stopped when it finally registered that his fireball had changed. The description hadn’t, but Fireball was now Concussive Fireball. Ander took a moment to gaze into his soul. Both Aeolian Vitality and Way of the Wind had a little spirit floating above them. But while Way of the Wind’s spirit was floating low and seemed half integrated, Aeolian Vitality’s spirit was floating almost entirely separate. Ander wondered what would happen if he fully integrated both spirits into their skills. Would his spells suddenly start getting healing effects, just like they were getting wind effects? What if he got a fire based legendary skill?
The temptation to try was almost too much for Ander to resist. It seemed every new legendary skill would change his entire kit. Though if he were going to try that, water would likely be the right second element to add. Ander already had a decent resistance to fire while using his wind control. He figured he could snuff out any flame that came within his influence. If he gained a legendary skill, or better spell, that was water attuned, it would shore up a number of weaknesses. He did wonder what that would do to his fireball spell, but so far Way of the Wind had not negatively impacted the spell at all, simply changed its function a bit. The idea was far too tempting.
With all of that, Ander finally pulled out paper and pen and made a list of what he wanted to accomplish.
* Integrate the spirits for the legendary skills
* Find a water based legendary skill or spell
* Find new attack/ utility spells.
* Practice wind control
* Train Aeolian Vitality for better healing
* Look into the locked treasure room
* Play with the Relay Node
* Finally, get some sort of mental resistance.
Ander shook his head at the last one. That one would be difficult. It couldn’t really be a spell, as spells had short time periods. He couldn’t cast a spell every time he was going to be around the High Lord. And what about if he came across one of the nobles without warning? Still he would try. And he would make it a legendary skill if he could as well. Ander knew he was probably getting a bit reckless about legendary skills, but he found he didn’t really care.